this morning, northeast knockout. >> millions are bracing for blizzard conditions today. a damaging storm already causing transportation shutdowns, school closures and more. we have the very latest forecast. it was a very anxious night across southern california. at least one town on lockdown, as police search for a suspected cop-killer with an online manifesto. new details emerging overnight. a developing story from texas. an e-mail hacking investigation involving the bush family. did a hacker break into e-mail accounts of both former presidents? and defeated. a stunner in college basketball. another number one team toppled.

good friday morning, everybody. we do begin with the madness blizzard that is about to unload tons of snow and heavy winds on the northeast. >> forecasters say it could be the worst storm in a century. airlines have already grounded more than 2,600 flights. schools are closed in boston and a number of other cities. starting this afternoon, amtrak is suspending service between new york and new england. >> the worst of the storm is expected to hit this evening, with hurricane-force winds. we begin our coverage, now, with abc's pretty arla. >> reporter: all of the towns on the northeast, with estimates it could drop up to 2 1/2 feet of snow. massachusetts governor due value patrick says this storm will make safe travel nearly impossible. >> accumulation is expected to be swift, heavy and dangerous.

>> stay off the streets of our city. basically, stay home. >> reporter: the storm struck the midwest, blanketing chicago with snow and leaving cars in ditches in wisconsin. along the i-95 corridor from new york, boston and beyond, preparations are under way. crews across the region loaded up salt trucks and are ready to hit the road. >> it will probably be a long four days, which is tough on anybody. >> reporter: no doubt, there is a lot of work ahead. new york has 6,300 miles of streets to plow. >> we have more than 250,000 tons of salt on-hand. >> reporter: in new jersey, residents brace for the storm, even though they haven't recovered from the devastation left behind by superstorm sandy. >> trying to batten down the hatches here, if any storms are coming. the last one ruined us totally. >> reporter: new england residents rushed out to stock up on essentials. >> this is panic shopping. so, bread, milk, a snow shovel

in case our snow shovel breaks. >> reporter: the fire department was even called into a supermarket in salem, massachusetts, because there were too many people there. many schools and businesses closed ahead of the storm. and airlines canceled more than 2,000 flights and say more are expected. and in massachusetts, all subway muss and commuter rail services will be shut down by midafternoon. >> as you can see on today's front page of "the boston herald," officials are urging drivers to be off the roads by noon, hoping to avoid a repeat of what went on in the historic blizzard of 1987. accuweather's jim dickey has more, now, on what's in store for this wild weather weekend. >> good morning, rob and diana. a crippling snowstorm expected here today. two systems colliding. area of low pressure strengthening, as with head into the afternoon off the eastern seaboard. watching the corridor from new york city on north and eastward. blizzard conditions from long island to bangor, maine, through

the overnight. worst conditions around noontime on. that's 7:00 p.m. tonight to the early morning hours. many spots, one to two feet of snow. rob and diana, back to you. >> thank you, jim, for that. for the very latest on the blizzard, stay with us for "good morning america." our extreme weather team, of course, is tracking it every move. brace yourself, folks. going to be a messy few hours. >> that's for sure. now, to our other major story. the nonstop search for a suspected triple-killer on the loose in southern california. >> police are going door-to-door in a ski area east of los angeles, looking for christopher dorner. they say he is heavily armed, highly trained and bent on revenge. abc's david wright is in big bear lake. >> suspect vehicle still outstanding. it's a black nissan titan. >> reporter: police officers hunting one of their own. a rogue former officer, now accused of hunting them. >> of course, he knows what he's doing. we trained him.

he was also a member of the armed forces. it's extremely worrisome and scary. >> reporter: it started sunday with a double-homicide. monica quan and her fiance, keith lawrence, shot in their car. a murder with no apparent motive. >> we've identified christopher jordan dorner as a suspect in this double-homicide. >> reporter: 33-year-old gister if dorner, a lieutenant in the navy reserves, honorably discharged last friday. fired four years ago by the lapd. police claim he bore a grudge against an lapd police captain, randy quan, monica's father, as well as other lapd officers. >> a particular interest is a multipage manifesto. >> reporter: a rambling manifesto posted online, dorner blames quan and other lapd officers of a smear campaign, after dorner reported witnessing a fellow officer commit police

brutality. i will bring unconventional and asymmetrical warfare to those in lapd uniform on or off duty. police set up a command post in the mountains northeast of l.a., where a truck had been set ablaze. that truck turned out to be dorner's. but the suspect was nowhere to be found. cnn's anderson cooper revealed dorner had sent him a package. >> inside the package was a hand-labeled dvd with a yellow post-it note, reading in part, quote, i never lied, referring to his dismissal in 2008. >> reporter: when the truth comes out, the killing stops. l.a. police reinvestigated any suggestion they review his allegations. >> it's not going to happen. >> reporter: dorner's manifesto indicates he is prepared to die. if they do manage to find him,

don't be surprised. i'm david wright in los angeles. we've learned overnight that dorner apparently posted messages online to various celebrities before he went on his rampage. among the recipients of those messages, tim tebow, charlie sheen, chef anthony bourdain and the west borough baptist church. john brennan told lawmakers that drone strikes are only used against targets planning to carry out attacks against the united states. he promised to tell congress every time the cia plans to target and kill terrorists. >> if the cia was involved in any illegal activity, i would make sure this committee had that information. >> after the hearing, dine feinstein called for more openness about drone strikes. the senator says lawmakers may set up a special court to regulate those strikes. outgoing secretary leon

panetta revealed the first time there was a plan in place to arm rebels in syria. but that plan was vetoed by the white house, over worries the weapons might fall into the wrong hands. more than 650 people have died in the civil war. coming up on this friday morning, the latest on the blizzard watch in the northeast. a storm that's on the move right now. and then, did facebook break the internet. a software buzz last night left millions seeing error messages. and the good news here at abc. robin roberts' return, now just a few days away.

and welcome back. there is more evidence this morning of a recovery in the jobs market. the number of americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits last week was down by 5,000. more importantly, the four-week coverage is down, too, to just over 350,000. that's the lowest level in five years. job creation is still lackluster, though. but the pace of layoffs is increasing. the internal revenue service says it is cracking down on identity theft. criminals use stolen identities to file fraudulent tax returns and then receive bogus refunds. the irs says it has prevented thefts of $20 billion last year, half as much as the year before. but the tax agency says it admits it still does miss some. and here's more evidence that facebook weaves a tangled web. many users were redirected from major sites to a facebook error page. but it only affected those who were logged into facebook with

the same browser. facebook has fixed the problem. british authorities say some recalled frozen la sang ya packages contained 60% horse meat and some as much as 100%. millions of burgers were pulled off of british shelves because they were tainted. horse meat is not bad for humans. but it's generally not eaten in britain or the u.s. and your chances of finding love, and more, at work may depend on your profession. more than 8% of artists say they've hooked up with a colleague. number two for workplace flings was cooks. but number three was welders, with more than 6%. the hot torch. and we didn't find news anchors, though, anywhere on the list. >> that's interesting. i met my husband at work. >> did you really? >> i did. >> and he's a tv guy, too. >> he's a tv guy. >> you're saying you're married? >> i'm married.

sorry. i know. next on this friday, a developing story. the bush family e-mails may have been hacked. and college basketball stunner. another number one team goes down. she changed her dress three times, but all you notice is her beautiful, healthy skin. jergens ultra healing moisturizer makes even your driest skin look healthier, instantly. with beautiful skin from jergens, you'll always make an entrance.

jergens®. the beautiful difference. it'and start talking aboutt whawhat you really wanthroom. from your toilet paper. it's time to talk about clean. feeling clean is so important. i use quilted northern. quilted northern soft and strong is stronger than the leading value brand, for a confident clean. whether you're vacationing in thor, orange county... start at alamo.com. just click on the alamo deal retriever℠. and get our best deal, customized for you. because everyone loves a little getaway... alamo. ♪ i woke up to a new day ♪ every little thing gonna go my way ♪ ♪ i woke up to a light bulb on ♪ every little thing is possible now ♪

[ female announcer ] we've added a touch of philadelphia cream cheese to our kraft natural shredded cheese so you can bring a creamier melt to any morning. ♪ life is amazing with the love that i've found ♪ ♪ part of the system that will form the blizzard is moving up the eastern seaboard this morning. here's a live look. rain drops on the lens of the nation's capitol. it all will be a rain event for d.c., changing over to snow as it moves into philadelphia and the upper north. and before the snow comes down, the wet roads will make for a slick commute for much of the northeast. especially slippery as freezing rain falls around new york this morning. rain drenches highways around the california coast. and snow in the mountain passes

in the northern rockies. >> and airport delays are possible in d.c., new york city, boston, philadelphia, l.a., salt lake city and san francisco. the search for a suspected triple. killer, christopher dorner. police went door-to-door overnight in the big bear ski area east of l.a., after dorner's burned-out truck was discovered nearby. >> they say that dorner is heavily armed, highly trained and bent on revenge against lapd over his firing in 2008. in a rambling manifesto posted online, he vowed to bring asymmetrical warfare to the department. a criminal investigation is under way to find out who is responsible for hacking the e-mails of the busush family. the hacker accessed e-mail accounts of both former presidents, as well as bush family phone numbers, home addresses and security gate access coats. the hacker received one

photograph during george w. bush's recent stay in the hospital. the recent stay is over for one squatter in south florida. andre barbosa took over a boca raton mansion. bank of america with which owns the property had him evicted. the bank had the locks changed and posted 24-hour guards to make sure the place remains unoccupied. also from florida, a bartender's close call. he scrambled out of the way, just as an suv came crashing through the front window. edwin perez avoided being crushed by jumping over the bar. a woman in her 70s was behind the wheel. it's not known why she lost control. perez ended up with stitches in his leg. the driver was shaken up but not hurt. a worker in tennessee quit his job for a rather unique reason. walter has an i.d. badge number 666. and he has another document from the company that referenced the so-called number of the beast.

and when he got his w-2 form with the 666 on it, that's when he quit. the company wants him back, now. and is offering a new w-2. now, sports news. take heart all of you about to be in that big blizzard over the next 36 hours. the first major league pitchers and catchers are reporting to spring training on sunday. as for last night's hoops highlights, we have those from espn. >> good morning. i'm zubin mehenti here with your "sportscenter" update. the most dangerous place in all of sport is the very top of college basketball. for the fifth time in as many weeks, number one comes crashing down. it's at the hands of p.j. richardson and illinois. they get to two there in champaign. and richardson had 23. we're tied. eight seconds to go. who else with the steal but richardson? coasting in. this would give the illini the victory. turned it over. 0.9 on the clock.

tyler griffey the ball game. where's the defense? nowhere to be found. and they storm the court in champaign. to the nba. two games on the docket. lakers and celtics, in boston. kobe and dwight, they've had some words lately. hooking up. he'll play. couldn't get it to go. paul pierce and the celtics, strangely enough, since losing rajon rondo, they have not lost a game. seems to have rejuvenated them. and a keen effort. celtics take a double-digit lead. a lot of questions over paul pierce is going to be here at the deadline or next year. he was there tonight in a big way. lakers get smoked by 21 at the hands of their biggest rival. that is the "sportscenter" update. i'm zubin mehenti. have a good weekend.

our dear colleague robin roberts is on the verge of a major milestone. she's about to return to the anchor chair at "good morning america." >> "gma" announced yesterday that robin will be back on the job february 20th. that's five months to the day since her bone marrow transplant. robin will ease back into the job, working her way back up to being on the air five days a week. >> happy to see her back. >> absolutely. up next, it's "the pulse." jimmy kimmel finds the funny side of the storm that's about to slam the northeast. and the little guy that swears he didn't touch the sprinklbut wh e up in the middle of the night it can be frustrating. it's hard to turn off and go back to sleep. intermezzo is the first and only prescription sleep aid approved for use as needed in the middle of the night when you can't get back to sleep. it's an effective sleep medicine you don't take before bedtime. take it in bed only when you need it and have at least four hours left for sleep. do not take intermezzo if you have had an allergic reaction to drugs containing zolpidem, such as ambien.

allergic reactions such as shortness of breath or swelling of your tongue or throat may occur and may be fatal. intermezzo should not be taken if you have taken another sleep medicine at bedtime or in the middle of the night or drank alcohol that day. do not drive or operate machinery until at least 4 hours after taking intermezzo and you're fully awake. driving, eating, or engaging in other activities while not fully awake without remembering the event the next day have been reported. abnormal behaviors may include aggressiveness, agitation, hallucinations, or confusion. alcohol or taking other medicines that make you sleepy may increase these risks. in depressed patients, worsening of depression, including risk of suicide, may occur. intermezzo, like most sleep medicines, has some risk of dependency. common side effects are headache, nausea, and fatigue. so if you suffer from middle-of-the-night insomnia, ask your doctor about intermezzo and return to sleep again. ♪

[ woman ] it's perfect. it even fits. that's because... i already had it sized. will you marry me? [ female announcer ] the leo diamond is certified to be visibly brighter at kay, the number-one jewelry store in america. ♪ every kiss begins with kay do you really think brushing is enough to keep it clean? while brushing misses germs in 75% of your mouth, listerine® cleans virtually your entire mouth. so take your oral health to a whole new level. listerin®... power to your mouth™. weather system's expected to join forces and be what the weather chanthrm nemo. it's naming it after a beloved

cartoon fish the best way to keep kids from going out in the storm? i don't care what the original meaning is. nemo is too cute a name for a storm. it should be winter storm skull crusher or blood fist. if it doesn't sound like a metallica album, it shouldn't be the name of a storm. >> i was saying that off-camera. >> jimmy kimmel on the blizzard named nemo. also, sweet news. the cookie-selling season in full swing. today marks the first-ever national girl scout cookie day. the girl scouts have been peddling the cook we since 1917, with thin mints the top favorite. >> and the cookie sales are designed to enhance decisionmaking, money management and people skills. >> we're fans of the samoas. coming up, someone has explaining to do. a little fella named john. >> from his messy face, it sure

seems like he was eating sprinkles when he shouldn't have been. >> john, what are you eating? >> nothing. >> you didn't eat anything? >> yeah. nothing. >> john, look at mommy. >> nothing. >> strange face and all. >> that is adorable. john denies it all, even when his mom con present tfronts him evidence. mom says they had a long talk about lying. and finally, feeling the need, the need for speed. >> yes, indeed. that's apparently what got into one of south africa's best skateboarders, as he hammered it downhill in cape town. >> he clocked himself going more than 40 miles per hour. that's about double the speed limit for a car on that road. the caps called the drive or the rider reckless and dangerous. not to mention that skateboarding on public roads is illegal there. police want the guy arrested.

>> he's moving, though. that's impressive. >> he's going quick. >> i can't roller skate. for some of you, now, local news is next. >> for everyone else, we'll be back. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [ female announcer ] nothing gets you going

quite like the power of quaker. today is going to be epic. quaker up. clumps. [ gasps ] meet new covergirl clump crusher. big volume mascara with a brush designed to crush. 200% more volume. zero clumps. new clump crusher. from easy, breezy, beautiful, covergirl. kleenex® care pack of soothing essentials. go to kleenex.com and enter the code from specially-marked bundles of kleenex® tissues. because only america's softest tissue

turns a gesture into a complete gift of care. updating the top stories, now. a door-to-door search for suspected triple-killer christopher dorner has turned up empty so far. police zeroed in the area of big bear lake after dorner's truck was found in the ski area east of los angeles. 24 million folks in the east are about to get slammed by a monster blizzard. hurricane-force winds and two feet of snow are expected from pennsylvania to new england. 2,600 flights have already been canceled. many schools are closed. and drivers being warned to stay off the roads. looking, now, at the rest of today's weather. rain from san francisco to san diego. snow in the southern california mountains, sierra nevada and northern rockies. and showers around miami and orlando. and finally, talent can turn

up at the most unexpected of places. take walmart, for example. >> that's where the young lady in our story got her start, in the most unusual way. here's abc's steve osunsami. ♪ i'm proud to be a coal miner's daughter ♪ >> reporter: she's proof that there's big talent in small places. 21-year-old kayla sloan was toiling away in the checkout lane at this walmart in west virginia, when a customer noticed her singing a tune, and then pulled out an iphone to record the magic. little did she know the video would catch fire on the internet. this is coal mining country. her husband's a coal miner, her grandfather, too. she told us she's had big dreams for years, but never thought there's any chance they could come true. >> i never thought that it would make it that far. i honestly thought that, you know, people would see me and enjoy it. but as far as it making it that far, i never even dreamed. i'm hoping to be on the grand ole opry. ♪ take the ribbons from my hair ♪

>> reporter: when she was 15, she and her brother cobbled together what little they had to record this homemade album that no one heard. but now, she's a hit. at least in the mountains. and certainly at the walmart she calls her second home. ♪ we were poor but we had love that's the one thing ♪ ♪ my daddy made sure of ♪ >> i've actually had people come through my line and they're like, can i have your autograph? or, will you sing me a song? and i start singing. >> reba? ♪ lord, forgive me for what i do ♪ ♪ you want him ♪ well, it's up to you >> reporter: she now sings at her register, in the break room and underneath the valentine's day balloons that are for sale. she says she'll never give up, no matter how small the stage. steve osunsami, abc news, atlanta. >> we all start somewhere. >> that's pretty remarkable, that's for sure. that's what's making news in america this morning. >> stay with us for "good morning america" coming up. we're going to have the latest on the manh i